Minutes to Midnight
by Aluqa
Summary: Follows Interview With A Campfire. The curse may have been lifted, but not all the spirits of Camp Everwood are content to rest. Can Tommy and the gang figure out what's going on before time runs out for Lil and Kimi?
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

He had recognized the dream for what it was, but that brought him little comfort.

_He was standing in a clearing, the moon above him impossibly bright as it illuminated the woodland landscape. A burning cold seemed to be winding itself around him, defying the air's unnatural stillness. A woman stood directly before him in the distance, staring at him; and though the light was so intense he could scarcely see her, the look in her eyes was impossible to mistake. Angry, almost accusing. Tommy felt frozen to the spot as she stepped towards him, extending her arm and opening her hand—_

"Tommy?" Lil waved a hand in front of his face, pulling him back to reality. "You okay? You seem kind of zoned this morning."

"Yeah," he said, faking a smile. "Just a little tired." He attempted to look busy by rummaging around in his locker, secretly relieved when she decided to drop the subject and resume her discussion with Phil and Kimi.

"So, do you guys want to meet up after school today?" Lil asked. "Mr. Beaker said that if we finish the Science Club display early we'd be off the hook for Open House."

"Count me in," said Phil. "There's no way I wanna get stuck goin' to one of those again."

The year's first open house was a ridiculous ritual designed to raise school spirit via bad food and even worse entertainment. Not particularly pleasant unless one enjoyed overpriced school memorabilia and watching their peers and faculty perform painfully off-key karaoke.

Tommy relaxed a little, listening to the cheerful voices of his friends and soaking in the languorous Monday morning energy. It was silly to let some half-remembered nightmare get the best of him; with a determined grin, Tommy slammed his locker shut and turned back to his friends. "Unless Pangborn sings another Emica song this year. Don't want to miss getting _that_ on tape again."

The others laughed and nodded.

"You guys are lucky," Kimi said, leaning back against a locker as she leafed through one of her folders. "With all my extracurriculars there's no way I can—" She stopped suddenly, pulling a paper out to examine it.

"What is it?" Lil asked as she and the others looked on.

"This is Chuckie's English homework," Kimi explained. "I'd better get it to him. Do you guys know where he went?"

Tommy shrugged. "After that incident on the bus this morning? Try the bathroom."

"Never knew Chelsea could scream like that," Phil chuckled, seeming almost wistful.

* * *

Chuckie Finster was not having a good day.

He had been awake for less than an hour, but it seemed as if fate was already conspiring against him. The cereal mishap had been humiliating enough, but then he'd nearly knocked down a member of the football team in his mad dash for the school bathroom. He groaned as he peered openmouthed into the mirror, finally assured that his braces were cornflake-free. A quick look through his backpack revealed that he'd somehow managed to lose the essay he'd been working on all weekend. In retrospect, perhaps scribbling down sentences between customers at the Java Lava hadn't been the best idea.

As tempting as hiding out in the bathroom all morning was, if he hurried he could probably get a few paragraphs written before his first class started. He paused to triple check the bottoms of his shoes for toilet paper before pushing open the door and stepping back outside. Entering the hallway was like emerging from a tomb; Chuckie suddenly found himself caught up in a whirl color and conversation, the voices of bustling students intermingling into unintelligible background noise.

Normally Chuckie was glad to be a part of it, but this morning there was too much on his mind he didn't think the others would understand. A movie Nicole had wanted to see would be in the theater this weekend, but it had been nearly a month since she'd casually mentioned going with him. Would she get mad if he brought it up? And how was he supposed to know if her invitation had been sincere in the first place? The amount of giggles at the end of her sentence had to count for something, but without the aid of some sort of Preteen Girl to English dictionary, he couldn't be sure what.

Chuckie was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize he'd collided with someone until his hands and knees met painfully with the hard floor.

"Chuckie! Are you OK?" He looked up to see Kimi standing above him, reflexes honed from years of dealing with a clumsy brother. Well, at least he'd picked the least embarrassing person to trip over.

"I'm fine. . ." He answered miserably, accepting the hand she offered and pulling himself back to his feet.

"Maybe this will cheer you up." Kimi withdrew a paper from her folder and dangled it in front of him.

Chuckie grabbed the paper, instantly recognizing it. "My essay!" He gave his sister a grateful smile. "Thanks, Kimi! How did you find it?"

"No problem. It must have gotten mixed up with my stuff at the Java Lava yesterday."

That was one less thing to worry about; at least he was no longer in danger of failing English. Chuckie smiled to himself as he tucked the paper away safely in his backpack.

"So, you want to catch up with the others now?" Kimi offered.

"Uh, no thanks, but you can go ahead."

"If you're sure…" She shrugged and smiled at him, turning and making her way back down the hall.

Chuckie considered calling after her, but decided he should just cut his losses and get to class; he was in no hurry to set a record for most social disasters before the first bell. By the time he had reached Mr. Beaker's classroom, Chuckie's mood had significantly improved. Today might not turn out so bad after all; he just needed to sit down, relax, and let all of this unfortunate business pass. Besides, Edith was probably already inside and talking to her was always good for his self-esteem. His smile disappeared as he opened the door and realized with an instant annoyance that someone was already in his seat.

"Hey—" he started, taking a step forward as the new boy turned towards him. Chuckie froze in horror, immediately recognizing the familiar blue eyes, the freckled face, and the shaggy brown hair. "_Bean!_"

In a sudden rush, Chuckie's mind was flooded with the events of last summer. He remembered the fear he'd felt as he and his friends had wandered helplessly through the woods; the inhuman sight of Bean's eyes glowing red; the shocking discovery of the photograph; the horrifying scene at the end of Tommy's movie…

Before he'd even realized he was moving, Chuckie found himself panting in the hallway, the door slammed shut behind him. He slumped back against the wall, taking a moment to will away the bad memories and regain his composure. There had to be a logical explanation for this—ghost boys didn't just enroll in elementary school in their spare time.

Panicking in the hallway wasn't going to solve anything; he could either march back into that classroom and deal with this himself or run away flailing for Tommy. With a resolute nod of his head, he opened the door and peered inside.

Bean smiled at him and gave a casual wave.

So, option two it was.

* * *

"What's this?" Susie eyed the card, automatically skeptic of anything with Angelica's face plastered all over it. Not to mention that much pink.

"An invitation to my victory celebration this Saturday!" Angelica exclaimed, tossing her hair back and leaning over Susie's desk.

"Victory celebration?" Susie arched a brow in confusion as she read the inside of the card. "Angelica, last week you said you weren't even _going_ to Open House! Now you're singing in the talent show?"

"That was before I knew they picked the winner based on audience response!" Angelica waved her hand dramatically. "It's a _popularity_ contest, how could I possibly lose?"

Susie rolled her eyes, biting back the urge to answer.

"So you'd better not even _think_ of competing against me!" Angelica took a step back, suddenly seeming angry. "Unless, of course, you _want_ to be _totally_ humiliated in front of the _entire_ school."

Susie sighed. "I thought we were over this, Angelica." Why did Angelica have to act like this every time Susie felt like she was finally gaining some ground in their friendship?

"Of course we are," said Angelica, looking guilty for a brief moment. "As long as you don't get any ideas about trying to steal _my_ first place trophy!"

"Look, I've got booth duty for _five_ different clubs; I won't have a free minute all night! I couldn't compete against you if I wanted to." Susie had learned the importance of honoring her commitments, and no cheap plastic trophy was going to tempt her to do otherwise. Besides, if the competition was as bad as it had been in the previous years Angelica might actually have a chance at winning. Noticing her friend's disappointment she added, "But I'll see if I can sneak away to offer moral support."

Angelica's attempt to reply was cut off as Harold came bounding in the classroom, breathing heavily and carrying a cardboard box. "I gave the invitations out to kids as they got off the bus like you wanted, Angelica," he said.

Angelica leaned over to inspect the box's contents and threw her hands up in frustration. "So what are you standing around here for? Go hand out the rest of them!"

* * *

The idea had made perfect sense on the way; Chuckie was sure of it.

But only now, standing flushed and disheveled in front of his friends, did he realize how crazy this whole thing actually was.

"What's up, Chuckie?" Tommy asked as he and others halted their conversation and stared on in confusion.

What was he supposed to tell them, "_Hey, remember that dead kid from summer camp? He's sitting in my desk!"?_

The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it all seemed. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this, and here he was freaking out his friends for nothing. Then again, there was always the off chance that he wasn't overreacting, and if he went back alone…

"Oh, just follow me!" Chuckie grumbled, deciding to just give up and find out the truth once and for all. He turned before anyone could respond and ignored their questions as he led the group back to his classroom.

"Mr. Beaker's class?" asked Kimi as they came to a stop. "What's this all about, Chuckie?"

"You tell me," he said, not taking his eyes off them as he thrust open the door. He really hoped that his friends wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary, then they could all have a good laugh about what an idiot he was.

No such luck; their bewildered expressions and startled gasps soon told him differently. Chuckie groaned and followed their gazes to where Bean sat staring back at them with a slight smile.

Everyone seemed frozen in place until Tommy broke the spell by walking forward determinedly. Phil, Lil, and Kimi quickly followed, leaving Chuckie to shuffle along behind them.

"Oh, hey. Didn't know you guys were from around here." Bean was the first to speak, obviously attempting to seem casual.

"Never mind that, what are _you_ doing here?" Tommy demanded.

"I'm new," Bean replied, shifting uncomfortably under their scrutiny. "Look, I hope you're not mad about what happened this summer. It was supposed to be funny. You all just seemed so obsessed with the legends…"

"_What?_" Lil was livid. "You expect us to believe that was all just some sick joke!"

"Yeah! What about—?" Chuckie found himself cut off by his teacher tapping his shoulder. He realized suddenly that the entire class had been watching their conversation.

"Ahem. Tommy? Phil, Lil? I know you're all anxious to be in my class but I'm afraid you're going to have wait your turn," Mr. Beaker said with his usual lack of enthusiasm.

"But—"

"Now, now," Mr. Beaker held up his hand in a gesture for silence. "I know the separation will be painful, but I believe that in the end it will be for the best." He motioned for them to leave, which they did slowly and grudgingly, staring back at Bean until they disappeared into the hallway.

Chuckie groaned and backed away towards an empty chair. How were he and Kimi going to deal with this alone?

Mr. Beaker walked to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. "Take your seat so that we can begin, Kimi."

"No!" Chuckie yelled, jumping back to his feet. "She can't!"

"Sit down, Chuck," said Mr. Beaker. "I assure you, the new kid is no more contagious than the rest of you. Possibly less so."

"But—"

Kimi smiled and laid a hand on her brother's shoulder. "It's OK Chuckie; nothing bad is going to happen to me here in the middle of class. We made it through Camp Everwood didn't we?" He knew she was trying to be brave, but it was impossible to miss the look of apprehension in her eyes.

Mr. Beaker cleared his throat. "_Now_, Miss Finster."

Chuckie sank back down into his chair, watching miserably as Kimi sat down beside of Bean. This was all his fault; why did he have to go and drag the others into this?

"Way harsh on Boot Girl, Chuck," Z observed, leaning up from a desk behind him. "What do you got against this guy?"

"Oh, I don't know," Chuckie whispered back agitatedly. "Maybe the fact _that he died more than a hundred years ago!"_

"Pretty wonk, dude." Z shook his head and sat back.

Chuckie ignored him, refusing to take his eyes off Kimi. Being in this situation would have normally terrified him, but concern for his sister had a nasty habit of overriding his sense of logic. Who did Bean think he was, _smiling_ at her like that?

Mr. Beaker's attempt to lecture the class was all but lost on Chuckie, who didn't even bother to glance at the chemistry worksheet placed on his desk. He twisted a pencil between his shaky hands, desperate to ease his nervousness. All he had to do was make it through this class, he reminded himself, and then he could go and find Tommy and the others. They would know what to do, they always did.

Kimi appeared to be hard at work on the assignment, her posture visibly relaxed from what it had been earlier. Chuckie glared down at his watch, impatiently watching the seconds gradually turn into minutes. Why did time have to move so slowly when his sister was in danger? Hearing the sound of muffled giggling, his head shot up with alarm. To his horror, he found that Kimi was leaning closer to Bean, grinning and whispering excitedly.

Without thinking, Chuckie sprang from his seat. This was _not_ going to end well.

* * *

**_Quick author's note:_**_ Sorry for the current lack of Dil—he'll play an important part in later chapters. ;)_


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"Kimi is being mind controlled by some evil pioneer ghost boy and you're eating lunch?"

"Calm down, Chuckie; you're starting to sound like Dil." Tommy pocketed the change handed to him by the cashier, shaking his head at his frantic best friend. Chuckie had been ranting incoherently about Kimi ever since they had met up in the hallway on their way to the lunchroom.

"This is _serious_, Tommy!" Chuckie exclaimed in frustration, following quickly as Tommy carried his tray across the crowded cafeteria towards where Phil and Lil sat waiting for them. "I was in Pangborn's office all morning! _Anything_ could have happened to her by now!"

Tommy placed his food on the table as the two boys sat down across from their friends. "What's up with _that,_ anyway?"

"I was _trying_ to save my sister and—"

"Say no more." Tommy sighed and turned his attention to his lunch.

"What are you guys _doing_?" Chuckie slammed his fist against the table as he regarded each of his friends in turn. "We have to help Kimi!"

"No offense, Chuckie, but you do tend to… overreact a bit when it comes to these things," said Lil, choosing her words carefully. "I'm sure Kimi can take care of herself."

Tommy nodded in agreement; hadn't Chuckie learned to trust his sister yet? Kimi had probably just been trying to make the best of a bad situation by gathering information. Any minute now, she'd walk into the cafeteria and explain everything. Then they could all focus on getting to the bottom of the _real_ issue here—why Bean was suddenly hanging around their school.

"You guys don't understand! You didn't see the way she was sitting there _talking_ to him! I-I tried to stop it but…" Chuckie trailed off dejectedly.

"C'mon, Chuckie," Phil said, scooping up a sporkful of macaroni and taking a sloppy bite. "You're _always_ spazzin' out over _something_."

Chuckie stood up angrily. "I am not spazzing out!" he shouted, earning irritated glares from all across the lunchroom. He made a noise of embarrassment and fell back to his seat.

Tommy looked back and forth between the door and his watch, finding it more difficult not to worry. Maybe Chuckie was actually right this time; Kimi _was_ a little late, and Dil was also nowhere in sight. Tommy had been trying to make sense of what happened at Camp Everwood all morning, desperately curious to know if Bean's motives were sinister. Until he got the chance to properly confront him, there was no way to be sure…

"Just try to cool it a little, OK, Chuckie?" Tommy said. "If she doesn't show up soon, we'll go looking for her."

Chuckie's expression brightened somewhat. "Oh, thanks, Tommy; I knew you'd help! Just don't expect me to sit around here and wait much longer…"

Tommy and the twins went back to eating, leaving Chuckie to watch the doorway for any sign of their missing friends. After a few moments of silence, his startled gasp caught their attention.

"Look, Tommy!" Chuckie gestured wildly towards the cafeteria's entrance, grabbing Tommy's arm and giving it a rough shake. "There she is!"

Turning from his seat, Tommy saw Bean surreptitiously slip into the room and head for a free table. He was flanked by both Dil and Kimi, who were chatting animatedly despite his lack of response.

"That's…different," Lil said, cocking her head to the side in obvious confusion.

"See? See?" Chuckie continued to point hysterically.

Tommy blinked as he stared on, thoroughly perplexed. He wasn't surprised that Dil had taken to tagging along with Bean (though he certainly didn't approve), but what could Kimi possibly be thinking? She had to realize what a risk she was taking. Perhaps she felt offended by whatever Chuckie had done that landed him in Pangborn's office all morning. She could be impossibly stubborn when it came to asserting her independence.

"You know, Kimi _wasn't_ in the woods with us that night," Lil began thoughtfully. "She must not realize what she's getting herself into."

"I can't just _sit_ here; I've got to get over there and do something!" Chuckie started to stand up.

"No!" the others cried in unison.

"Why not?" Chuckie seemed genuinely surprise by their reaction and sat back down. "You guys see what he's done! I have to rescue her!"

Phil laughed. "Yeah, like you 'rescued her' from Z? Face it, Chuckie; if you freak out on her now, you're only gonna make things worse."

"This is completely different!"

"Maybe," Tommy said, "but I think Kimi would take it better if you let someone else handle this one."

"Like who?"

Lil cleared her throat. "It's obvious that this situation requires a woman's touch."

"Then why are you gettin' u—_ow!_" Phil's laughter was cut off by Lil stomping on his foot.

"Good call." Tommy nodded to her. "But be careful. And while you're at it, see if you can pry my brother away from him, too."

"Will do!" Lil smiled, grabbed her tray, and headed off.

Chuckie groaned and buried his face in his hands. "This just keeps getting worse and worse…"

"Chill, Chuckie," Tommy said. "Everything will be OK, and once Lil brings Kimi back to her senses we can find out what's _really_ going on here."

Chuckie said nothing and did not bother to look up. Tommy and Phil looked at one another and exchanged shrugs, finishing up their meals as they awaited Lil's return.

"Is this the greatest day ever, or _what_?" asked Dil, who had made his way to their group, as he leaned over the north end of the table and grinned madly. "I mean, I always knew this school was haunted, but I wasn't expecting an actual physical manifestation until at _least_ seventh grade!"

Tommy picked up his milk carton and took a drink before regarding his brother with a slight smile. "Figured you'd think so. How'd you manage to drag yourself away from Ghost Boy?"

Dil sat down in Lil's former spot, his expression a bit more pensive as he nodded his head in Bean's direction. "He's a little…_distracted_ at the moment."

Curious, Tommy spun around to get a better look. Kimi and Lil were now sitting on either side of Bean, obliviously talking over each other and smiling flirtatiously.

The milk carton slid from Tommy's hands and clattered to the floor. He was dimly aware of Phil's startled gasp and Chuckie's shrieking, but the utter shock of the situation refused to allow him to react. This was getting _too_ weird. Sure, he'd seen both girls do some pretty crazy things when it came to guys before, but how could they not realize how dangerous this was? And deadness aside, what was so special about this Bean guy, anyway?

Tommy turned back to Dil, completely baffled and unable to speak.

"Don't ask me, bro. He said what happened at camp was just a prank and they totally bought it!" Dil shrugged. "I mean, sure, not everybody's going to be open-minded about the whole 'ghost thing,' but he can't expect _us_ to believe that."

Phil shoved his tray back. "That does it! I'm not lettin' that guy get near _my_ sister!"

"Hold up, Phil!" Tommy cautioned, holding up his hand. "Remember how mad Kimi was when we tried to keep her from Z?"

"Yeah, so?"

"_So_, imagine adding Lil."

Phil winced. "Ouch. _Not_ pretty."

"If we can't confront them, what _can_ we do Tommy?" Chuckie asked, drooping over the table miserably.

Tommy stared off, deep in thought. If only there was some way to show them what a liar Bean was; to remind them of the truth_…._ He grinned slyly as a plan began to formulate—of course it would work!

"He might be able to trick them for now, but we've got actual _proof_ on our side," said Tommy, watching his friends' faces light up as they caught on to his idea.

"You really think that'll work?" Phil asked.

"It _has_ to! We'll get everyone over at my house after school today for a screening of my movie. After they see that again, everything will go back to normal."

_I hope so, anyway…._

x x x

"Do you guys realize you're being _completely ridiculous_?" Lil asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.

The entire gang (minus Dil, whose mother had picked him up earlier for his yoga lesson) stood on the sidewalk in front of the school. School had ended a few minutes earlier, but working on the Science Club display had been all but forgotten. Tommy and the others—who had been acting incredibly weird all day—were now insisting that they all head over to his house to watch one of his old films. Lil was normally more supportive of her friend's hobby, but not when he was using it as an excuse to attack a virtually defenseless new kid.

"_Us_?" Phil protested. "You two are the ones droolin' over some dead guy!"

"That is _so_ immature, Phillip." Lil rolled her eyes. Why couldn't the others just accept that they'd been fooled? Were they really dense enough to think that one dumb photograph made someone a ghost?

"Yeah," Kimi agreed. "I thought at least _you_ had a sense of humor."

"Come on," said Lil. "Let's just drop this and tell Mr. Beaker we want to work on our project."

Tommy shook his head. "No way—this is more important."

"Might I remind you that if we don't finish the Science Club display soon we'll be stuck going to Open House?" Lil stepped towards him challengingly. "The same one _Angelica_ will be _singing_ in!"

"We'll finish it, I promise. But only _after_ you and Kimi have seen my movie."

"Only on one condition," Kimi said. "If we agree to watch your movie again, you guys have to promise to leave Bean alone and let this whole thing go."

Tommy looked at Chuckie and Phil who nodded their approval. "Deal. Now let's get out of here."

Lil hesitated, craning her head to watch the different groups of students pouring out from the school building. She'd been hoping to find Bean and walk him home, utilizing the excuse of wanting to show him around, but there was no sign of him anywhere. She supposed that was for the best; it would have been impossible to get him to herself with everyone else here.

Kimi walked to Lil's side and nudged her. "Come on, might as well get this over with."

Lil nodded and the group began the walk to Tommy's house. She and Kimi hung back several feet away from the others, glaring or turning their heads away in anger whenever anyone dared to look back at them.

"Kimi…" Lil whispered once she was sure the others weren't listening. "We can't let Tommy show that movie."

"I know, once Chuckie and Phil see it they'll be even worse."

"Yeah, and I'm sure Bean's having a hard enough time adjusting to a new school without them harassing him all the time."

"But what can we do?"

"You come up with something to get everyone out of Tommy's room and I'll take care of the rest." Lil looked down, feeling overcome by shame for even suggesting such a thing. She shook her head, steeling herself. Betrayal or not, it had to be done. It was nearly impossible to describe, but nothing had ever made her feel like this before. She knew, just from their conversation at lunch, that there was something special about Bean. She had to look out for him, no matter what the cost.

Kimi remained silent, apparently lost in thought. When they approached Tommy's house she finally said, "All right, I'll do my best."

Lil forced herself to smile. She was glad she at least had Kimi on her side through all this craziness, even if the way she had been throwing herself at Bean earlier _was_ annoying.

They walked into the house and headed up to Tommy's room room, quickly abandoning their strained attempts at conversation.

Tommy dashed to his closet and began digging through his video collection, leaving the rest of the group to stand around awkwardly. Lil pulled her backpack from her shoulders and pretended to be looking for something. She put it back on without zipping it up, smiling with relief that no one seemed to notice.

"Found it!" Tommy thrust the tape over his head triumphantly and carried it towards his VCR.

Lil turned to Kimi, her expression distorted with panic. Wasn't she going to do something?

"Wait!" Kimi yelled much louder than necessary as she pushed herself past the others to the center of the room.

Tommy stopped as he and everyone else regarded her with confusion. "Uh… what?"

Kimi blushed, hesitating a little. "I uh, just remembered that I promised Dad I'd stop by the Java Lava right after school."

"But I thought he said we could take this week off," Chuckie argued.

"He did, but this morning he told me there's some convention in town and that he might need some extra help." Kimi smiled, her acting becoming much more convincing as she got into it. "I know this movie is important to you guys, but I _promised_ my dad I'd go straight over there. He probably doesn't even need me. If so we can grab some smoothies and come straight back here, OK?"

"Well…" Chuckie looked off uncertainly. "I wouldn't want to let Dad down."

Tommy sighed in defeat and set the tape on top of the VCR. "Fine. Let's just hurry and get over there."

Lil followed as the gang started to leave, purposely letting her open backpack slip onto the ground. Papers spilled free from her folders, scattering across the floor along with a few pens and a hairbrush.

Lil gasped in mock-frustration, reaching down to gather her things. Chuckie, who had been standing closest to her at the time, knelt down to help. He picked up a blank sheet of paper and offered it to her.

"_I can do it myself_!" Lil screamed, roughly yanking the paper out of his hands. She glared fiercely at Phil and Tommy, daring them to do the same.

Chuckie jerked his hand back as if bitten, muttering an apology.

"I'll catch up in a bit," Lil said, forcing as much sweetness into her voice as she could muster. Kimi winked at her as she and the others headed out in the hall.

Once they were out of sight, Lil quickly stuffed her belongings in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She peered out into the hall, watching as the last of them disappeared from view down the stairs.

She had to act fast.

She grabbed a piece of tape from a dispenser on Tommy's desk and dashed over to where he had left the video. She placed the tape securely over the hole where the tab had once been, stuck it in the VCR, and pressed record. Stealing it would have been too obvious, but she had to make sure no one could ever see that movie again. Maybe this way Tommy would think it had been an accident.

Intense guilt immediately crashed through her; she knew how hurt Tommy would be by this, could she really go through with it? There was still time to stop the VCR before the whole movie was ruined…

She forced the thought from her mind. Tommy may have been one of her oldest friends, but nothing was more important than protecting Bean. There was no time to hesitate now; if she didn't hurry downstairs the others would start getting suspicious.

_I'm__ doing him a favor really,_ she assured herself as she rushed to catch up with her friends. _Once Tommy realizes what a cool guy Bean is, he'll thank me for this._


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Well, _that_ had been a waste of time.

Tommy dumped his backpack by the door and flipped on the lights, scowling at nothing in particular as he walked back into his room alone. Despite her father's assurance that she was free to leave whenever she wished, Kimi had kept making excuses to keep the group at the Java Lava. A few hours and six green apple and strawberry smoothies later it was getting dark, and Chas and Betty had forbidden their children from going anywhere but home.

Now Tommy was going to have to wait until tomorrow to show the girls the movie, which meant another full day of watching them fawn over Bean. The thought turned his stomach more than he cared to admit.

He sat down on the edge of his bed, noticing for the first time that his movie was not where he left it and that the tiny lights indicated his VCR was running. Curious, he went over to take a closer look, resting on his knees in front of the TV. He withdrew the video and realized with alarm that someone had placed a piece of tape over the hole left by the erasure prevention tab. Even worse, the tape appeared to be fully rewound, almost as if it had been completely recorded over and spat back out.

Slightly panicked, he shoved the tape back in the VCR, hit play, and turned on the television. The screen flickered from black to static as Tommy nervously looked on. To his dismay, a fuzzy copy of a TV movie he only vaguely recognized began to play instead of his horror film. He desperately pressed the fast forward button, watching with growing horror as the images rushed by until the tape finally clicked to a stop.

His movie was gone; completely ruined. He ejected the tape and stared at it numbly. Of all his films why did something have to happen to this one? He'd been so proud of it, and the whole experience had meant so much to him. His thumb brushed against the sticky tape as his grief quickly gave way to an escalating rage. This had been no accident.

Tape in hand, he stormed out into the hallway, desperate for someone to blame. He thrust Dil's door open and held up the video angrily. "_Dil!_ Did you even realize what this was?"

Dil, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by a circle of various junk for reasons Tommy was sure he did not want to know, looked up in surprise and started to speak.

"My horror movie from Camp Everwood!" Tommy cut him off by answering his own question; he wasn't in the mood to hear any of his brother's ridiculous theories. "And now it's totally destroyed!"

"Wait—you're accusing _me?"_

"You and Mom and Dad were the only ones here! And who else would tape _Aliens in __America__?"_

"_Me_ support Hollywood's exploitation of my alien brethren? Ha!" Dil laughed for a moment and then turned serious, locking eyes with Tommy. "Seriously, T, you think I'd mess with something that important to you? Something that happens to be documented evidence of the paranormal?"

Tommy's glare slowly faded as he looked down and sighed. He knew his brother had a point, it was just easier to be angry than to accept the helplessness of the situation. "No… Sorry, D, I know you're right…"

Dil smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "No prob, bro. Don't you have another copy?"

"Yeah, of my raw footage. That weirdness with Bean only showed up on this one." Tommy stepped further into the room and leaned against the wall. "I just don't get how this could have happened…"

Anger forgotten, Dil shot up to his feet and made his way from the center of his circle to Tommy's side. "Isn't it obvious, T? My alien communications have finally paid off! This place is becoming a hub of supernatural activity!"

"…And that has _what_ to do with my movie?"

"Ghosts from all across the world are flocking to this town as we speak!" Dil placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder and thrust out the other in a broad gesture. "Can you even imagine how many of our undead brothers and sisters are surrounding us _right now?_"

"So let me get this straight," said Tommy, arching an eyebrow. "You think ghosts—who came here looking for aliens—broke into our house and taped over my movie?"

"Of course! No offense, T, but it _was_ kind of damaging to their reps."

Tommy shook his head, looking down at the tape in his hands sadly. "The scary thing is, at this point I almost believe you."

x x x

_It couldn't possibly be real._

_Though Tommy was standing in what seemed to be a forest, unnatural silence had replaced the sound of distant animals, and the scent of plant life was conspicuously absent from the air. The horizon beyond the trees blurred black, as if he was floating on an island somewhere outside of reality. No wind dared to disturb the surreal scene, but that did nothing to stop the cruel, paralyzing cold from holding Tommy in place._

_He attempted to draw his arms closer for warmth, only to find they had become dead weight at his sides. Alarmed, Tommy tried to look down to investigate the problem, but quickly found that his head too was frozen in position. Terror pulsed through him as he realized he was suddenly unable to do as much as inhale. With even his eyelids beyond his control he had no choice but to stare off in front of him as he fought against whatever unseen force held him in its grasp._

_A shape emerged in the distance, and Tommy instantly recognized her as the woman from his dream. This time he could see her more clearly. The moonlight appeared to echo back from her eerily pale skin, and stringy brown hair spilled over her shoulders onto a tattered white dress that seemed at least a century out of place. She held out a glowing palm as she moved forward, seemingly gliding across the forest floor._

_Tommy's eyes burned with the need to blink, and soon the brightness was too much for him. His vision faded to a painful blur, leaving him blind and defenseless. Though he could no longer see the woman, he knew that the feel of the temperature plummeting around him meant she was getting closer._

_"Give it back." Tommy could feel her icy breath against his face as she spoke, her words reverberating in his head long after she had stopped talking. He had no idea what this strange lady was talking about, but at that moment, he would've have given her anything she asked for just to be able to breathe again._

_Knowing he couldn't last like this much longer, Tommy struggled with all his might, desperate to ease the aching of his lungs. His invisible bonds showed no mercy, refusing to relinquish control of any of his senses for even a moment. _

_He found it impossible to even whimper as lightheadedness began to overpower him. As his struggles finally ceased, he recognized the woman's voice distantly calling to him one last time._

_"Give it back…."_

Tommy shot up in bed, frantically sucking in mouthfuls of air. He could feel his heart thumping wildly against his chest as he held his hands in front of his face, amazed that he was finally able to move them.

Throwing back the blankets, Tommy climbed out of bed and wondered if he'd ever been so grateful for the simple pleasure of functioning legs. He flipped on the lights and settled himself in the chair by his desk; there was no way he was going to go back to sleep tonight. Only when he was certain he was no longer in immediate danger of suffocating did he calm down enough to reflect on what had just happened.

It had been that dream again. But worse this time—dangerous, even.

The same nightmare for the second time in as many nights. It had showed up at the same time as Bean, and Tommy was willing bet that was no coincidence. From the outdated style of clothing the mysterious woman wore, he was convinced the two were somehow connected.

And she had wanted something from him this time. Closing his eyes, he recalled her harsh whisper. "_Give it back." _

Tommy didn't have a clue what 'it' was, but he knew he had to find out quickly—somehow he was sure that it was the key to getting them all out of this mess.

x x x

"'Gone?'" Phil threw up his hands in frustration. "How the heck can it be 'gone?'"

Tuesday morning found the gang gathered around their usual place by the lockers as Tommy did his best to explain the unfortunate mishap with his horror movie. Phil's anger had been steadily building with every word and Chuckie seemed to be teetering even closer to the edge of a nervous breakdown than usual. Kimi and Lil merely listened, seeming strangely quiet.

"Gone as in _gone_, Phil." Tommy sighed. "Totally ruined."

"But how could that have happened?" asked Chuckie. "It just doesn't make sense!"

Tommy looked away. What had happened to his movie had been intentional, he was sure of it. Lil had been the last person in his room, but he couldn't bring himself to seriously consider that possibility. None of his friends could really do something like that to him, could they? Aware of their eyes on him and unsure of what to say, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I think it serves you right, Tommy," said Lil, glaring at her friend and clutching a textbook against her chest.

"Yeah, well—" Tommy paused abruptly in mid-sentence as he realized just what she had had said. "_Huh?_"

"You heard me," she replied, taking a step forward to glare at him. "You wanted to use that movie to turn everyone against someone who's been going to our school for _a day!_"

"But I—" Tommy stuttered, his mind racing to pull together a coherent sentence. The look in Lil's eyes was vicious, even more so than her harsh words; he couldn't remember ever seeing her direct that much anger and hostility in his direction before.

"That isn't like you, Tommy," said Kimi as she stepped over to Lil's side, regarding him and the other boys with enough anger to rival her friend's. "You really got what you deserved."

With that, both girls turned their backs to the group and stomped off down the hall.

Mouth agape, Tommy could only watch them go, hopelessly wondering just what he had done to upset them. When the shock finally faded enough for him to regain some coherency, he slowly turned to the others, somewhat relieved to find that their stunned expressions mirrored his own.

"Any idea what _that _was all about?"

"Try livin' with her!" Phil crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "She's been actin' completely crazy ever since yesterday!" He paused and then amended, "More than usual, even!"

"Kimi too," Chuckie moaned, bringing his hands up to his face.

Tommy looked back in the direction Kimi and Lil had hurried off in. While he had seen the girls angry plenty of times before, that sort of spiteful cruelty was simply not in their nature. Despite what they had said to him, he felt nothing but concern for them. Something was very wrong with this situation.

It seemed like Tommy's day had started horribly and was only getting worse. Narrowing his eyes, he did his best to shake it off. He might not have been able to do anything about the dreams, but _nothing_ was going to stop him from helping his friends.

He turned back to regard Phil and Chuckie. "Okay, I think we can all agree that there is something _seriously_ not right going on around here." The other boys locked eyes with him and nodded their agreement.

His expression fierce, Tommy smacked his fist against his open palm. "Then let's _do something_ about it."


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Lunchtime, as Chuckie had once observed, was generally regarded as the least boring activity of the school day. It was a chance for everyone to gather together with their friends, momentarily free of the stress of classes and teachers. It was a time to laugh and discuss the day's activities; the one real opportunity they had to relax and simply enjoy being kids before the final bell rang to set them free.

Today, it was a council of war.

Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Dil sat gathered around one of the circular tables, the lunch trays in front of them all but forgotten. Thus far all of their plans for confronting Bean had been met with nothing but disappointment. He'd been successfully avoiding them all day, meeting their accusations with feigned innocence and silence. Lil and Kimi were never far away, and he was too aware that their presence left the boys with no choice but to back off. Both because they didn't want to risk alienating their friends and out of fear of somehow falling under the same spell the girls had. Even Dil's attempts at getting close to Bean had failed, and he was obviously hurt at being rebuffed by someone he'd once considered to be his best friend.

"So what now?" Phil asked, finally breaking the silence that had reigned over the table since lunch began.

"Well," Tommy said. "Sending Lil to check him out was obviously a bad idea."

"_Duh._" Phil crossed his arms and glared at him from across the table.

Tommy shot him an annoyed look but otherwise paid no attention to the comment. Sending Lil to investigate Bean might have ended in disaster, but that didn't mean there was anything wrong with the idea itself. It was now apparent that they weren't going to be able to confront him without turning Lil and Kimi completely against them. What they needed was someone on the inside.

"_But_ we could still use someone on his side to find out what he's up to."

"Like who?" Chuckie fidgeted and looked around the room nervously.

"Don't look at me," said Dil as he crumbled a brownie into his mashed potatoes with a disturbing amount of expertise. "I'm still reeling from the abandonment!"

Ignoring them, Tommy scanned the cafeteria. The outfit threw him off at first, but after a few moments his eyes locked onto his target. Sitting next to Chetwyn, he had a green vest pulled over his white tee-shirt. His hair was neatly combed and parted, and a pair of glasses with no lenses rested on his nose. An open physics book lay in front of him, a bored expression on his face as he pretended to be interested in reading it.

_Trevor._

With a mischievous grin his friends knew could only mean trouble, Tommy stood up. "Come on, Phil. I think I've got a plan."

Phil hesitated before following but soon gave in and the two of them made their way across the lunchroom, casually coming to a stop a few feet from where Chetwyn and Trevor were sitting.

Phil traced Tommy's gaze and regarded him with a slightly confused expression. "What—?"

Tommy waved him off and dramatically pointed towards Bean, Lil, and Kimi's table. "Look at that, Phil! He's only been here two days and he's already so _popular_." Tommy's tone increased in volume as he emphasized the last word.

Phil's eyes lit up as he caught on to Tommy's idea and he gestured enthusiastically "Yeah! Look how many _friends _he has already!" His booming voice was so melodramatic that it almost made Tommy's flat acting look good in comparison. "If I were gonna follow someone around and completely steal their personality, it'd be that guy!"

With an irritated hiss, Tommy grabbed Phil by the arm and began to drag him back to their table. "Real smooth, Phil!"

"_Me?_ Tommy, for our collective sanity, it's best that you stay _behind the camera!"_

"Whatever," Tommy muttered as they reclaimed their seats. "Let's just hope he takes the bait."

The group watched as Trevor stole several surreptitious glances in Bean's direction. There were no guarantees he'd go through with it, but at least they had managed to pique his interest.

"So what if he does?" Chuckie sighed, apparently unimpressed with their new strategy. "How does him following Bean around help us?"

"Unless you want to take on Lil and Kimi ourselves, there's no way we're getting anywhere near that guy," said Tommy. "So we'll let Trevor hang around him for a while and then make him tell us what's going on."

"The kid's a human leech." Phil grabbed the soggy pizza from his lunch tray and took a large bite, making up for the lost time of setting up their attack. "If anyone can do it, it's him."

"I guess it's better than rushing in without a plan…" Chuckie sighed.

"It's all we've got," said Tommy. Best of all, the girls wouldn't be able to trace Trevor back to them. They could gather information without the threat of drawing their anger.

Chuckie looked less than convinced, but the lack of alternatives kept him quiet. The bell soon rang to dismiss them and the boys mumbled their goodbyes and hopes for good luck to each other before heading off in separate directions.

Tommy and Phil walked back to their fifth grade English class in an apprehensive silence—it wouldn't be long until they discovered the results of their plot. Taking their seats at the usual adjacent tables they watched as the other students trickled back in from lunch. Normally the grudging trek back to the confines of the classroom was one of the most depressing times of the day. Now they could only look on nervously, hoping as hard as they could they could for success.

Lil was one of the last ones to enter, a dreamy, blissful grin plastered across her face. The cheerful calls of her friends went unnoticed as she sat down in the back and immediately began staring out the window.

Tommy clenched his fists in frustration, more convinced than ever that there was something very unnatural about her recent behavior. What reason could she possibly have for ignoring her friends from the soccer team? They certainly had nothing to do with the gang's attempts at defaming Bean.

Miss O'Keats greeted the class as she walked in, standing by her desk and shuffling through her lesson plans. Trevor was still nowhere to be seen, which Tommy chose to interpret as a good sign. With any luck, he was currently on his way to becoming their new secret weapon.

They didn't have long to wait. Trevor stepped into the room just as the last lunch bell rang; though he now bore little resemblance to the boy they'd seen earlier. His hair had been mussed from his its former position to fall down loosely around his face and the fake glasses had been completely abandoned. The vest was now missing too, the white tee-shirt underneath untucked to hang in a casual manner. He must have noticed the way that Phil and Tommy were staring at him, for he tipped his head in their direction and said, "Howdy."

Somehow the boys managed to keep their expressions neutral until he sat down. As soon as his eyes were no longer on them, they leaned across the space that separated their tables and grinned wickedly, bumping their fists together in their usual handshake.

"Looks like Casper just got a new sidekick."

"Time for Phase Two."

x x x

By some miracle, Chuckie and the others had managed to convince Lil and Kimi to stay after school to work on the Science Club display. Despite being so eager to get it finished on Monday, today it had taken hours of pleading and bargaining before they had agreed. But even under mind control it seemed that the horrors of Open House were more than anyone wanted to face.

Though Dil was not a member of Science Club, he'd opted to stay behind and help them out. He was currently leaning back in a chair, juggling a pudding cup he'd swiped from the cafeteria during break. He'd given his word to keep an eye on Lil and Kimi while the others were busy, even if he did seem more interested in trying to get in contact with other ghosts.

Once they were certain that the girls were hard at work inside Mr. Beaker's classroom and that Bean was nowhere in sight, they could finally do what they'd been waiting to do since lunch. Even Chuckie had to admit things with Trevor could not have worked out more perfectly; he'd been a constant fixture in Bean's group, never giving the ghost a moment of free time with their sisters.

Trevor's mother picked him up after school every day, giving them a window of opportunity to question him while the buses moved out. Leaving the girls under Dil's watch, they wasted no time in rushing outside to find him.

They quickly spotted him in front of the school, leaning back against the chain link fence and watching the road for any sign of his ride. With Tommy in the lead, Chuckie and Phil followed along behind at either side in what they hoped was an intimidating formation.

"Hey, Trevor," Tommy said, stopping in front of the other boy and crossing his arms. Chuckie and Phil followed suit. "We've got a few questions about your new friend."

Trevor said nothing, refusing to spare even a glance in their direction.

"Hey!" Phil stepped forward, his tone angry. "We're talkin' to you, here!"

Again they were met with only silence.

"Trevor?" Tommy's tone was softer now as he laid one hand on Trevor's shoulder and waved the other in front of his face, but even the physical contact did nothing to snap him out of his trance.

Trevor seemed as if he was completely unaware of their presence, simply staring forward with an abnormally blank expression. His eyes were dull and far too still, making him look almost lifeless. Only then did they realize there was something far more sinister at play here than simply being ignored.

"We killed him, Tommy, we killed him!" Chuckie shook Tommy's shoulders as panic overcame him.

"Calm down, Chuckie!" Tommy shoved him back. "We didn't kill anyone! He's fine, he's just…" Tommy watched Trevor, apparently too distracted and disturbed by the vacant look in his eyes to finish his sentence.

"Looks the same as always to me," Phil mumbled.

"Hi, boys!" Chuckie yelped with fright as a woman's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts.

He turned to find Trevor's mother waving at them from inside her car. Wincing, he forced himself to wave back and mumble something that might have resembled a greeting.

To his amazement, Trevor suddenly stirred from his position and headed for the car in stiff, robotic movements. Chuckie watched Trevor's complete lack of response to his mother through the windows until they drove out of sight.

"Come on…" Tommy's voice was quiet and defeated. "We'd better get back…"

Wordlessly they began the slow journey back inside the school. Chuckie found that he couldn't stop shaking, the warnings about zombies from Camp Everwood mingling in his thoughts with the Hollywood interpretations.

Something was very wrong with Trevor and there could be no denying it was largely their fault. Bean was obviously a lot more dangerous than they had wanted to believe. What was stopping him from doing the same—or worse—to Kimi and Lil? The guilt and hopelessness weighed down on Chuckie like a tangible force, making him feel as if he would simply collapse onto the floor at any moment.

"First Lil, now Trevor! Got anymore great ideas, Tommy?" Phil balled his hands up into raised fists, choosing anger to deal with his fears. "Why don't you just send _me_ next time, huh? Since we're expendable and all!"

"How was I supposed to know that was going to happen? Besides, you helped me! If it was such a bad idea, why didn't you say anything?" Tommy didn't sound anymore calm than Phil did.

Chuckie groaned, this was _not_ a good time for them to be fighting amongst themselves. He did his best to drown out the sounds of their angry voices as he peered back into the classroom to look at Kimi and Lil. They were smiling and discussing something as Kimi used a marker to grace one of the posters with her flawless handwriting. Kimi had always been so sweet, so outgoing, so full of life. He tried to picture her looking back at him with the same cold, dead eyes Trevor had and shuddered. The thought of his sister and lifelong friend in that condition was too horrifying to imagine. One plan might have failed, but that didn't mean they could give up.

"This is no time to fight!" Chuckie stepped between Tommy and Phil and gestured to the girls. "Kimi and Lil are still okay, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but—" Phil started to protest.

"But _nothing._ That's all that matters, so let's make sure they stay that way."

They watched their friends for a few moments, surprised to see them look so happy and carefree. The sight was almost enough to erase what had just happened from their minds. Phil bit his lip, his eyes flickering with more emotion than he usually cared to show.

"You're right, Chuckie." Tommy gave him a small smile. "There's no way we can give up now."

Phil nodded resolutely. "We'll find another way. We _have_ to."

Chuckie's despair eased somewhat as the tension around them dissipated. What they lacked in forethought they made up for in sheer determination. He was certain they would somehow find a way to make sure Kimi, Lil, and Trevor all returned to normal.

"But there's still one thing I don't understand," said Chuckie as an unanswered question suddenly crept into his mind. "Dil was hanging around Bean yesterday too, why didn't _he_ end up like that?"

Curious, they looked to where Dil sat on the floor, currently smearing chocolate pudding along the wall with a paintbrush in an effort to "communicate with the spirits."

"…Never mind."


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The next time the world decided to turn itself upside down, Phil sincerely hoped it would think to send him a memo in advance. The resulting chaos wasn't something he would have normally minded—being in on it would have probably been fun! Being suddenly thrust into the role of the voice of reason, however, was anything but.

Phil sighed, tugging on the strap of his backpack as he walked alongside Lil towards his first period class. All around him people were talking, blissfully oblivious to the danger they were in. He waved off those who chose to speak to him, flashing the best grin he was able to muster. He knew they wanted to ask him questions about Lil, and he wouldn't have known how to answer them even if he'd wanted to.

As worried as he'd been about his sister, Phil had to admit he was glad he was finally about to get a break from watching over her. He'd been at her side all Tuesday evening, trying every technique he could think of to get her back to her old self. His attempts at humor had failed miserably, she seemed to have no interest in soccer, and trying to annoy her had only made the fights between them escalate. The argument they'd had over breakfast that morning had gotten so intense that their father had been forced to drive them to school to keep them from being late. He dreaded seeing how his mother would react to that little incident once they returned home.

"Get out of my _way_, Phillip!" Lil's shoulder clashed with his in a rough shove as they reached the doorway of Mr. Shackley's classroom.

Phil ground his teeth together and suppressed a growl, stepping back to let her pass before following. It would have been pointless to start another fight with her over something so trivial; he'd had more than enough of that already. Besides, by now they were halfway through the week and he'd become almost used to her new attitude. It was one of many things he'd had to adjust to these last few days, along with Kimi acting equally strange, Chuckie's state of perpetual panic, Dil's new determination to prove that they were constantly surrounded by ghosts, and the way the entire school was suddenly always freezing cold despite the lingering warmth of the summer weather.

What he wasn't prepared for was seeing Tommy slumped forward on his desk, staring at the wall with an expression that rivaled the one they'd seen on Trevor just yesterday. Phil shuddered at the memory, noting with a pang of guilt that Trevor's seat was conspicuously empty.

Phil ignored the way Lil was glaring at him from the back of the room and headed over to Tommy. He dropped his bag onto the table with a heavy thud. "Oh man, T, not you too!"

Startled by the noise, Tommy looked up and blinked as if he had only just noticed Phil's presence. "Huh? Nah, I'm fine."

Phil yanked a chair over from a neighboring table and whirled it around backwards before plopping down in it and draping his arms across the chair's back. Leaning forward, he fixed his eyes on Tommy and said, "Really? 'Cause you sure don't look it."

Though he'd tried to keep his tone light, he hadn't been joking. Tommy looked pale and tired and Phil wondered if he'd gotten any sleep at all. Though he was glad that Tommy was taking the situation seriously, he couldn't help but be a little annoyed. It wasn't like Tommy was the one with a sister in mortal danger—if even _Chuckie_ could hold himself together then _Tommy_ certainly had no right to break down.

Tommy's mouth quirked into a slight smirk that said he was far too used to Phil's bluntness to be offended by it. "Yeah, I'm just tired, I guess. Any luck with Lil?"

"Just the usual," Phil answered with a humorless laugh. He was about to launch into the story of their latest fight, but stopped when he noticed that Tommy was staring down with that dazed look on his face again instead of paying attention. With the way his friend was acting, Phil had to wonder if Tommy had even noticed the twins hadn't made it to the bus this morning. "Okay, Tommy, spill. What's goin' on with you today?"

Tommy sighed and gave a conspiratorial look over his shoulders as if to see if anyone was listening.

"There's something really weird going on around here," he said finally, leaning forward and speaking in a low voice.

"Um… yeah, I kinda figured that much out already, T."

"I mean something _else…_" Tommy sighed and ran a hand through his hair, seemingly struggling for words. "See, I've been having this dream… and well, there's this…girl and she—"

"Whoa!" Phil held up a hand. "You might wanna keep this one to yourself, Tommy."

"I—it's not like _that!_" Tommy hissed, his face flushed in shocked embarrassment.

Phil grinned, happy that he'd finally managed to get a decent reaction out of him. Maybe his teasing could break his friend out of his stupor yet.

"I… I can't really explain it," Tommy continued, clasping his hands together and looking down. "But she _wants_ something from us—from me. I know it has something to do with Bean. If we could just figure out what it is…"

"We've all had it pretty rough this week, T. No reason to let some _dream_ get to ya." Phil smiled again, hoping make Tommy relax.

"I guess you're right…"

"So anyway, what's the plan for the day?" asked Phil. If some stupid nightmare was the reason behind T's behavior, then they just needed to get his mind off of it.

"Not a clue…" Tommy shrugged, obviously unconvinced but too tired to push the subject further.

Phil bit back on his irritation at Tommy's indifference. Didn't he realize how much they were all counting on him? This was no time for Tommy to let himself be distracted with some meaningless dream; his help was essential to getting them through this.

"Then I guess we should just keep it simple, y'know? We stick with Lil and Kimi and keep 'em away from that guy."

"Yeah," Tommy said, "I guess that's the best we can do for now."

Even though Tommy had agreed to help them, the far off look in his eyes made Phil wonder if he was going to end up alone in this one after all.

x x x

Normally the heat of the ovens and the bodies of hundreds of students gathered in one room could be counted on to make the cafeteria seem stuffy no matter how high the staff bothered to crank up the air conditioning. Today, however, it was so cold that Tommy could barely restrain himself from shivering. He'd noticed the abnormal temperatures earlier in the week of course; but now, tired and weak, he felt its presence more acutely. Somehow it even seemed to be more than purely physical, as if the air was seeping through his skin and freezing him from the inside out.

Determined to block out his discomfort, Tommy drew his arms closer to himself and idly twirled his fork around in his food. He wasn't feeling very hungry, and the strange, sugary substance Pepe was trying to pass off as spaghetti certainly wasn't helping matters.

"I can never show my face at soccer practice again," Phil moaned from across the table, burying his head in his hands.

Tommy winced sympathetically, looking over to the table where Lil and Kimi were sitting with some of Lil's friends from the soccer team. He had no idea what the girls had told them, but if the way Wally was glaring at them was any indication, it certainly hadn't been flattering. He may not have known her as well as Phil did, but it was obvious that Wally was not the sort of girl you wanted to have angry at you. Much like Lil herself, actually.

At least things had been working out for them so far_—_the safety of their friends was more than worth a little ridicule. Chuckie had sat beside Kimi in every class and the others practically ran to the girls' sides and began chatting them up at every free moment. The boys had left them no choice but to accept the new arrangement, despite how unhappy they obviously were with it. Dil and Phil dragging them into an impromptu "spy mission" on the way to lunch seemed to have been the last straw. Tommy could swear his ears were still ringing from the way Lil shrieked when they had accidentally tipped a garbage can over on her.

Only when Tommy and the others were certain Bean was in no danger of coming near them had they allowed Lil and Kimi to break free in the lunchroom. Annoyed with the loss of their new friend, they'd settled in with some of Lil's teammates and began whispering and throwing accusatory glances at the boys' table.

In spite of their current good fortune, they all knew it couldn't last. Bean had been shying away from their presence so far, but it was only a matter time before he lost patience with their games and condemned them all to the same fate as Trevor. He'd shown up in the cafeteria only long enough to stare at Angelica's "in" table for a few disturbing moments before disappearing, apparently not ready to face the challenge of getting past Tommy's group to get to Lil and Kimi.

With a sigh, Phil sat back up and regarded the other three more seriously. "So, you think he'll be back?"

"Bet on it," Tommy said. "He won't hide from us forever."

"So why's he doing it now?" asked Chuckie, finally giving a voice to the question that had been hanging over them all day.

For a while, no one seemed to know what to say. Tommy was sure his dream held the answers they were seeking, but decided that now was not the right time for him to voice his concerns. His confession that morning had already made Phil think he was crazy, and telling Chuckie would only cause his friend to panic more than he already was. Dil would listen to him, but Dil was, well…_Dil. _He'd probably attribute Tommy's problems to some conspiracy being masterminded by polka dot covered penguins from Venus. Tommy would just have to wait until he had more proof.

"Maybe," Dil began, leaning over the table and arching his eyebrows mischievously," he's waiting for the right time to drag them into the netherworld to join his harem of the undead!"

Chuckie yelped and paled, and Tommy knew the situation must be dire indeed for him to be taking Dil so seriously.

"I hate to say it, but he does have a point," Phil said. "It _is_ kind of like he's _waiting_ for something…"

"I'm telling you guys—_zombie love slaves_—"

"_Dil!_" Tommy glared warningly.

Though it had been enough to effectively silence Dil for the time being; his last words about zombies repeated themselves in Tommy's mind over the silence, triggering memories from their summer at Camp Everwood. Recollection quickly bloomed into realization as what Bean could be waiting for became all too apparent.

The others must have reached a similar epiphany, for they quickly turned to Tommy with expressions as excited as his own and gasped practically in unison, "The zombie moon!" No more words were needed.

Metal scraped harshly against the tiled floor as they pushed their chairs back and shot to their feet, running pell-mell through the double doors and out into the hallway. Finding a calendar had suddenly become a matter of life and death.

They dashed for the first open classroom they saw, nearly getting stuck in the doorway as the four of them hurried to push past each other.

Miss O'Keats was sitting at her desk, picking listlessly at a salad and staring out the window. She looked up in shock as the boys charged into the room and gathered around the calendar tacked onto the bulletin board. "Why, children! Whatever are you—"

Tommy paid no attention to her, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him. Somehow two simple words on a page had managed to confirm his greatest fears. _Full moon._

"Friday!" Chuckie cried. "The _full moon_ is on _Friday!_"

"That's gotta be it," Phil said with a grim nod.

"Two days!" Chuckie's hysteria was building. "Two _days,_ Tommy!"

"We _know_, Chuckie, just calm down—"

"I will _not_ 'calm down'! We have _two days_ before some crazy, brain-eating ghost is gonna try to turn Kimi and Lil into his zombie concubines!" Tommy heard Miss O'Keats gasp and drop her fork.

"He's not going to do anything!" Tommy put one hand on Chuckie's shoulder. "At least we know what we're up against now, right? We have the advantage here."

The others visibly relaxed as Tommy turned to regard them with his best 'serious leader' face, despite the fact that he himself did not believe a word he was saying. In actuality, this new clue only made the big picture become even more of a blur to him. So what if the full moon was near? That hadn't stopped Bean from doing whatever it was he had done to Trevor. And more importantly, they'd been _alone _with him during the zombie moon that summer. If he'd wanted to hurt them, wouldn't it have been easier to do it then? Why would he wait to follow them to _school _and parade Lil and Kimi around days before he intended to strike? In spite of how strange and scary the whole experience had been, Bean had been something of a friend to them and the sudden change of heart simply made no sense. Tommy was convinced other forces were at play here.

"T's right—now's the time to amp it up and take this guy _down._" Phil slammed his fist against his palm for emphasis.

"But _how_?" Chuckie asked miserably.

"We'll think of something," Tommy lied. "But come on guys, we'd better get back before anyone notices we're gone."

He started towards the door, doing his best to ignore the voices of his friends as they followed along behind him, enthusiastically discussing potential strategies.

Tommy knew none of them would work, and the deadline of the approaching full moon only made the situation all the more desperate. His friends seemed to feel comforted by this new information, though, and that would have to be enough for now.

Behind them Miss O'Keats muttered something indistinct, but Tommy was pretty sure he could make out the words "such imaginations" and "psychiatric help."

x x x

_Long overdue, but written for Arte-chan, who reminded me that this thing existed. ;) _


End file.
